Wednesday, November 12, 2008

The Election


The youth voters had a huge impact on the outcome of the presidential election this year. There were approximately 2 million more voters under the age of 24 this election then in the last one.
Polls like the one displayed on the left, show how the youth were impacted by the candidates in general. The graphs on the left reflect the views of the young voters, age 18 to 24, from the 2008 presidential election. 83% of young voters thought that the 2008 election would impact the country a great deal. Thus, resulting in their votes. When asked which political party understands the "needs of people like yourself", 46% of young voters said it was the democratic party. And finally, when asked who was the most "inspirational" candidate, 53% of young voters said it was Barack Obama. I believe that not only did Obama's policies and ideas get him elected, but how those ideas were presented was how the democratic party took the White House.

Another interesting outcome of the 2008 Presidential Election was the global impact on the election and the global reaction to the results. Most countries heaved a sigh of relief when they learned of Obama's victory. One country included in this was Kenya. The day after election day, the president of Kenya, Mwai Kabaki, declared a national holiday so the people could continue their celebrations.